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A Little Death/Part 2
"A Little Death" is the second story of the Universal Clarification Series. Story The rest of the day flowed as awkwardly as Jonathan had expected, but at least his unwelcome lunch mate kept to herself until he reached the bus stop after school. His satchel hung off his side as he leaned against the stop sign. With his headphones over his ears, his mind fell away from the world around him. “Hey again,” she chirped. He didn’t hear her, so she tapped his shoulder. He blinked and looked down, moving his headphones away as he frowned. "What now?" “You still have my Tupperware and I’m gonna need it back,” she explained. He sighed and lifted up the front of his satchel to rummage through his belongings, mumbling something like, “Oh yeah, I got it,” until he found it. He pulled it out from under his history textbook and handed it to her. "Here." "Thank you." She took it with a smile, quickly stowing it in the front zipper pocket of her backpack; then she straightened up and held the handle. She stood beside him in silence as they waited for the bus to arrive, much to Jonathan’s relief, but his moment of peace was short-lived. The chugging sound of the yellow transporter’s heavy tires drew nearer and nearer as he felt a small hand tug at his sleeve. He poked his head over his counterpart’s shoulder to look at the girl, which made Jonathan lean away rather abruptly. His shoulder slipped off the stop sign, sending him reeling towards the curb – and by then, the bus was too close for comfort. He could see his shadowy reflection in the headlights as he stumbled into its path. “Jonathan, you still haven’t told me her name,” Sock reminded him. “Do you even know it?” The sound of his Converse skidding against the pavement caught the girl’s attention. With a jolt, she dropped her backpack handle and tugged his hood to pull him back. The tires came to a screeching halt, just barely having missed the collision, and several bystanders gasped. Sock stared at them in disbelief. “…Whoa, talk about a lucky break,” he stated nervously. Jonathan coughed and held his neck with one hand until he fully recovered from being choked half to death. Once he stabilized, he glanced at the girl; the look of shock in her eyes mirrored his own. He blinked and instinctively stepped away from her with his other hand raised off his knee. “Are you okay?” she asked. “…Yeah – yeah, I’m fine,” he replied, quickly shaking his hair back into place. “Thanks.” Sock zipped around his counterpart as if he were trying to hide from the girl, but one glare from the teenager ushered him onto the awaiting bus. Jonathan was angry, but focused on retrieving his headphones and let his classmate board first. As he followed her, she spoke up, so he lifted one speaker to listen. “I just realized I don’t know your name,” she admitted. Before he could consider not answering, he felt Sock’s presence lingering over his shoulder and he knew exactly what his demon wanted. "It's Jonathan." He made his way towards the back of the bus – unintentionally leading the girl into the last row. He plopped down into the seat ahead of hers after she settled in and slumped against the window. Sock tried to take a seat next to him, but was displaced when she moved up. Both he and his counterpart frowned at her, but nothing seemed to kill her cheery disposition. “That’s a nice name,” she told him as she held her backpack in her lap, crossing her ankles once more. She removed her glasses and cleaned the lenses with her sweater, adding, “My name’s Claire, but some people call me ‘CD’ since my middle name’s Delilah.” “No kidding?” he asked flatly. He stared out the window, starting to mumble his words as he faded out of reality. Sock waved his hand in front of Jonathan’s face, which kept his counterpart from completely tuning out of the conversation – an act he would have repaid with a more offensive gesture if not for Claire’s presence. "What's your middle name?" "I don't have one." "How come?" Jonathan shrugged and slouched with his head back against the aged leather seat, shoving his hands into his hoodie pockets as he closed his eyes. His neck hurt somewhat when he swallowed. “Well… I’m glad we could reconnect. It’s nice to make a new friend.” Jonathan may not have been listening right then, but Sock was, and a demon with a heart as sweet and sappy as his could not help but smile. Minutes passed in silence. “See you tomorrow, Jon,” she said after the bus came to a halt. She stood up, set her backpack on its wheels behind her, and made her way out, giving Sock his opportunity to sit next to his exhausted counterpart. When she was gone, he turned his head and nudged the teenager’s arm. “Heh. She called you ‘Jon’,” he teased. "Don't care." “Oh, but when I'' do it, you get mad,” Sock replied, crossing his arms. “How come ''she’s allowed?” “’Cause it doesn’t matter,” he insisted. “I’m not talking to her again, so why should I care?” “I dunno, because – maybe she’ll see you tomorrow? She literally just said that.” He leaned in, making Jonathan squish himself against the window. “If you paid attention, you would’ve known that.” "Shuddup, Sock." "Make me!" Jonathan glared at him, but this time his demon reflected the cold look in his eyes, instigating an intense stare-down: a test of will in which shades of emerald green with razor-sharp pupils could challenge a chilling misty blue scowl. Neither budged for the duration of the ride, but as fate would have it, Jonathan was forced to break his gaze when the bus reached the cul-de-sac outlet. He groaned and stood up, calling Sock a bad name when he stuck his tongue out at him. The walk home was as miserable as it had been yesterday, but at least he was in no rush to return to an empty house. His parents would arrive by the time he finished his homework and only God knew if his sister would be back from softball practice before them. Until then, he had Sock to keep him company. . . . The next day when Jonathan sat down at lunch time, Claire showed up and sat across from him. While he ate his turkey club sandwich, she started talking about her hobbies – specifically her skull collection. “Wait, what?” he asked, lowering his sandwich slowly. Sock floated over the teenager’s head with a smile creeping along his face. “Yeah, I’ve been collecting animal skulls since I was five – or was I four?” she replied, pausing to think a moment before continuing. “Well, as long as I can remember, I guess. I’ve always loved finding dead critters. I used to draw roadkill and turn them into my preschool teacher, but I had to stop when my mom told me my teacher was scared of them.” “You’re serious right now,” Jonathan dared to say. She cast her eyes down and added in a quieter tone, “But I didn’t stop drawing – I just gave them to my mom instead. You know, so she’d put ‘em on the fridge and I could see them.” “That’s awesome,” Sock whispered. He slipped his hands over his counterpart’s shoulders and placed his open palms against the table. Jonathan was too busy staring in disbelief to notice. “…Just animal skulls, right?” Claire lifted her sweet blue eyes and blinked, confirming with a simple, “Yep.” Then she tilted her head and stuck her plastic fork into the Tupperware bowl of lasagna in front of her, stating, “I’ve never found any human skulls so far, but sometimes I wish I would. It’d be my pièce de résistance for sure.” Sock’s eyes widened with excitement; Jonathan’s widened in fear. She grinned and perked up in her seat as she inquired, “You wanna see it sometime?” “Yes!” Sock cried at the same time as his counterpart said, “No…?” and since she heard her classmate’s response, she leaned back and ducked her head slightly. “Oh.” She picked at her lasagna with her fork. “That’s okay, Jon – I know that was a pretty bold offer.” Neither one could take of bite of their food. Sock chuckled and gently poked the teenager’s nose with a sly wink. “She called you ‘Jon’ again.” “What’s your point?” Jonathan whispered through his teeth, trying not to look directly at his little demon. “It’s cute,” he insisted, “I think she likes you. Like, a lot.” This comment was met with Jonathan tensing his shoulders and lowering his head with a look of disgust aimed at the table below his half-eaten sandwich. It caught his classmate’s attention, so she tilted her head. “Maybe I should’ve waited until after lunch to talk about that,” she thought aloud. “Wait – I should’ve asked if you’re okay with creepy stuff first. What kind of weirdness are you into?” “Jonathan, ask her,” Sock chimed in with his hands pressed against the table next to him. “Ask her if she likes you – right now.” “I’m not doing that.” The teenager dragged a hand across his face, but was forced to turn his head when his demon leaned in closer to his ear. Claire watched him with growing curiosity. “Ask her!” Sock demanded. “Is she calling you ‘Jon’ because she likes you?” His hand slid over his mouth to muffle his reply so his classmate would miss it: “Piss off, dude.” “No! Just ask her and get it over with! Don’t make me have to possess you again!” "Jon?" Continuation *'Part 1' *'Part 3'